'Oh, yes, we hid there. Twice in fact. We thought the dungeon was haunted but of course it wasn't.' Rachel laughed, prompting spontaneous applause, and the presenter joined her, encouraging her to continue on a lighter note.
'Course I never believed it,' she lied, having been at least as terrified as Maisie.
The presenter was finding it hard going. 'You hid there twice, and borrowed some Old English Monuments items from the castle shop.'
'We were hungry and later it was cold at night. They do really good chocolate and blankets.'
The presenter's laugh was indulgent and professionally polished to be infectious at the same time, taking in both Rachel and the studio audience. 'What was the best bit for you about the castle?' he said after a pause for more clapping.
'Next to the chocolate, squishing the zombies was the best.'
'Squishing the zombies?'
'Oh, yeah!' Rachel squirmed with excitement and began on her version of events. 'When we first got past the turn style into the castle, the zombies were still chasing us, so we tried to get the drawbridge up but they kept climbing on it 'til it fell down.'
'That must have been terrifying!'
Rachel nodded and went on in at breathless speed. 'They kept on coming, you know, kind of lurching like they do. All horrible and disgusting.' Rachel pulled a face and moved her arms to give her impression of a zombie. 'Anyway, we made this big gate thing come down on them.'
'The portcullis.'
'That's it. Really heavy, so it squished them good.'
'I see. They were trapped underneath it?'
'Yeah, loads. Three or four of them, maybe more. So gross!'
'And it stopped any more getting in?'
'Exactly. Then we hid inside until they went away.'
The advertisers were paying big money to really cram in the adverts, so already the floor manager was signalling to the interviewer. For his part, the interviewer was keen not to interrupt Rachel at full throttle.
'But then later you left the castle. Why was that?'
'To get our stuff of course. We reckoned we had a chance with all the zombies and the army gone down to the harbour.'
Again the floor manager signalled the interviewer.
'That sounds very exciting, Rachel. I hope you'll tell us all about it after a word from our sponsors.'
There followed a longer ad break than usual, during which Rachel ran around the studio, jumping up and down, squeaking and finally coming to rest to hug her mum and dad who were standing ready to appear later in the show.
'Rachel, you were going to tell us how you left the castle.'
'OK, well we got out through this tunnel thing. It was really easy, just had to climb down into the dungeon and walk out, more or less.'
At the side of the studio, Alex rolled her eyes at Steve. Again Rachel had skipped over the part where she and Maisie had a screaming fit.
'Why did you have to go out through the dungeon?'
'Because we couldn't move the big gate thing. It was too heavy.'
'Lucky there was another way out.'
'I was sure there would be.' Rachel gave her best grin to the camera. 'So then we went back to get our stuff from the school. That was a bit exciting because the floor fell in while we were there. But we had to go because my bag was in the classroom, with important stuff in it and my jacket. You know, important girl stuff: all my makeup, smart phone, that sort of thing?'
'It sounds as though you were all very brave.'
'I can't speak for the others but I know I helped keep us all safe.' Rachel nodded and joined in the clapping to reassure herself.
'To begin with there were just five of you who escaped the school?'
'That's right, my friend Maisie and some kid in our class called Fred. He sat at the back of the room so I didn't really know him before. In the castle he was always wanting to fight zombies or whack something. Then there was the nerdy pair Alex and Steve. I guess I'm the best looking of the bunch, huh?' Rachel was so impressed with herself that she stood up for another universally applauded twirl and bow.
'And now, ladies and gentlemen,' the interviewer said rising to his feet and stretching out his arms, 'It is with enormous pleasure that I am able to present you with all the heroes and heroines of the escape from Kilkorne…'
The audience erupted as Maisie, Fred, Alex, Steve, Janet, Sarah, Graham, Bill and Karen joined Rachel around the sofa. No-one in the audience had any conscious idea why they were clapping and cheering, many standing up with tears running down their faces. They responded simply to the general feeling of wanting to join in and be part of a communal celebration of freedom. For the first time in months people felt safe and happy.
Chapter 16: The Trial Part One
'Minister, I must remind you that you're under oath here,' the judge said. The court public gallery was packed with journalists, and TV cameras had been allowed in for the trial of one of the most notorious individuals involved in the zombie outbreak.
The disgraced Minister for Home Affairs sat motionless in the dock, wearing a new and very expensive-looking suit. His face was composed and it carried a casually indifferent expression. The judge wore pristine robes and his voluminous white wig had the appearance of being recently combed. He gave every impression of approaching his job with a great deal of relish.
However, the Minister was defiant. 'You already know all the answers, what difference does it make what I say?'
'It makes a difference to all the relatives of those who were killed when the zombies broke out of Breathdeep.'
'You've got your vaccine now. What more do you want?'
'For you to be held to account for your actions, including those against the courageous few who escaped Kilkorne and discovered the zombie detector torch.'
'That was to have been mine,' the Minister replied through clenched teeth.
'Thank you for that admission, Minister.'
'What about my defence?'
'Do you have one?'
The Minister sneered. 'Not really,' he said, causing uproar in the public gallery.
When the court had returned to order, the Judge continued, 'Then I shall proceed with the first witness…'
The Minister pleaded guilty to all the charges brought against him and his associates, having no compunction whatsoever about naming any of them. He made a full confession of his connections to the criminal underworld, money laundering and, most seriously, his plan to ensure Steven Reynolds, his mother and their friends were disposed of so that he could go ahead with manufacturing the ZDT. Over much of the course of the trial, the Minister appeared to fall into an increasingly abstracted state, offering simple admissions of guilt at each charge. He made no claim to there being extenuating circumstances and he was unable to offer up any witnesses to speak in support of him in any way.
During the trial, evidence was brought forward about the role of the Minister in the first outbreak of zombieism. He had not been instrumental in appointing the infamous Professor Smith, who actually manufactured the virus, infecting himself and his co-workers in the process. It was stated, however, that the Minister could have done more to prevent the spread of zombies through the countryside after the breakout from Breathdeep. In the breakout, infected lab staff and security officers smashed their way out of the Facility and rampaged unrestrained through the countryside.
Smith, who was one of the last to be infected, didn't report the breakout, thinking that the zombies would die within a few hours. He believed he would be able to soon prepare a vaccine and that, with the later collusion of the Minister for Home Affairs, the whole episode could be hushed up. Quite the opposite occurred when the virus mutated once inside the human body, to the more potently infectious variety which also allowed the host to live for several weeks.
The least expected symptom of the virus was the force with which it drove those infected to infect others. In the early stages of the disease, zombies were quite capable of driving and for several days still abl
e to use public transport networks. As soon as the Minister realised what was happening, he took steps to ensure that he was in a position to make a profit out of the disaster, while keeping himself as far away from any risk of infection as possible.
The media were not slow to broadcast zombie updates and it was through their efforts that all UK borders were closed. Graphic images circulated on the internet and the zombie situation 'went viral' within thirty-six hours. Fortunately, the virus was not able to be transmitted as fast as the news of its arrival. Many UK citizens on holiday and business trips were trapped abroad, as no pilots could be found who were willing to land in the UK. Similarly, visitors to the UK were forced to stay, even though they may have been hundreds of miles from the source of zombieism, because all flights out were cancelled by international demand. The UN stated that, with regret, any planes leaving the UK or marine vessels setting sail would be either blown out of the sky or out of the water. Such was the initial paranoia, that anyone holding a British passport was lucky if they weren't shot on sight in some countries.
There was no way to tell who was infected and who wasn't in the early days, so the disease spread without hindrance all across the south west of England. When the Minister realised the number of cases of zombie rage reported had reached disaster proportions, he called in the army to cordon off an area of thousands of square miles. Without having a vaccine available, anyone exhibiting symptoms was shot and the bodies burnt in short order. Sometimes it was not even possible to identify the victims and so relatives could not be informed. Without knowing just how infectious the disease was, army personnel had no idea what precautions to take and it wasn't long before many of the soldiers turned into armed and even more dangerous zombies.
Emergency curfew and quarantine laws were put in place and from there it became a fight for the survival of the British people. Bitter street battles took place in many cities, with full-blown zombies careering through shops and offices. Despite curfews, rioters rampaged after dark, looting and setting fire to buildings. The government having learned its lesson in the Wealth Riots of 2011, sent the police in full force to crack down on the disturbances.
As soon as all international airports and docks were closed, the zombies focussed on other centres of population which were more accessible from the south west of the country. This appeared to invest the zombies with the ability to direct their actions. In fact, it was simply natural selection, all the late stage zombies which headed for transport hubs were easier to mop up than the early infectees who randomly roamed through the suburbs.
In the first outbreak the army ensured that much of London was unaffected, however, huge swathes of England had been laid waste by the fighting and had become no-go areas because of the virus contamination of the ground. After four months, the application of vast quantities of chemical decontaminant, and many assurances from the government, people had moved back into previously affected areas. The population was still sparse, as a result of the several million fatalities.
Witnesses stated that during this period the Minister manipulated property deals in infected areas and set up companies selling armed forces stocks of firearms and ammunition. He also maintained several black market rackets in food supplies, after first instituting a national system of rationing to deal with the collapse of the import-export markets. Some munitions and foodstuffs were sold with the full knowledge that they were contaminated.
Chapter 17: The Trial Part Two
'All rise,' rang out the cry across the court room in preparation for the judge to begin what many believed would be one of the last few days of the trial.
After two weeks, the media had lost much of its interest in the trial, with the almost monotonous catalogue of the Minister's devious schemes and plots. According to the law of diminishing returns, as time passed the status and prominence of his associates also fell below the level of public concern. "He's guilty, just lock him up and be done with him." became the most widely expressed opinion. Only when the trial finally looked like it was about to be wound up did the court gallery became full once again.
Before the Minister was brought in, a representative of the prosecution announced that a psychological assessment had concluded that the Minister was criminally insane.
The Minister himself was then led to the dock in a thoroughly disreputable and dishevelled state, as if over the past weeks he had lost interest in his appearance and slept in his suit. It was severely crumpled, his shirt collar and cuffs were stained, and his tie was not straight. The judge, however, looked as immaculate as he had on the first day. There was general speculation in the media that the proceedings would be something of an anti-climax, with the judge simply summing up and adjourning the court to consider the sentence to be imposed. No-one expected what took place that morning.
'Late last night,' the judge said, remaining standing behind the bench, 'the Prime Minister led a closed cabinet meeting to decide whether even more serious charges than those brought forward in the first part of the trial could be made in open court.' The judge's words caused an eerie silence at such an extraordinary revelation. What he had been unable to reveal was that the PM had been forced to make the knowledge of the third zombie outbreak public, because it was about to be leaked onto the internet.
Clearing his throat, the judge continued, 'I speak of charges of international terrorism and of conspiracy to kidnap British citizens. As a result of these actions of which the Minister is accused, an outbreak of zombieism occurred outside the United Kingdom.'
Gasps of astonishment and a rustle of excitement went through the public gallery; chairs were knocked over as journalists ran to the door to telephone their editors. The judge, with gavel poised above the bench, gave the gallery such a fiercely grim stare that all fell silent within a few moments.
'It was only through extreme vigilance on an international scale that mass panic was avoided after the theft of zombie virus from Breathdeep, and that an inevitable foreign outbreak was contained. It can be left to the imagination what might have happened if the virus had been mass produced, weaponised and dispersed over a major city.'
At that point, the judge had no hope of returning the court to order and he announced an adjournment. It was audible, amongst the hubbub, solely to him and the members of court staff closest to him.
Twenty minutes later, the judge returned to find the public gallery almost bursting with TV crews and bristling with microphones. An expectant hush fell as he approached the bench.
'I hereby open the case of the theft of zombie virus and the kidnapping of Steven Reynolds.'
The judge shuffled his stack of papers and peered over his glasses at the Minister.
The Minister stared at the judge. 'Well, aren't you going to call a witness?'
Staring back, the judge said nothing, willing the Minister to make a confession as he had so many times before but none was forthcoming.
'Do you have even one witness?' The Minister leered around the court. 'I covered my tracks pretty well on that one.'
The judge glared at the lone figure in the dock. 'Call Agent 51.' Then he glanced at the public gallery and declared, 'The agent cannot be identified for security reasons.'
Still no-one was led into the court but with some degree of ceremony, a monitor was wheeled in, positioned next to the witness box and a microphone placed on the bench.
'Agent 51, can you hear me?'
'Yes,' said a silhouette displayed on the screen.
'Present your report if you would.'
'The Minister was contacted directly by email. How his email address was obtained by the terrorists, we do not know. However, the Minister believed he had deleted all of the emails from his account.'
'You all think you're so clever but you don't know everything,' the Minister said with a sneer.
Ignoring the Minister's outburst, the judge said, 'How were the emails obtained?'
'They were archived by the service provider and released under the Emergency C
omputer Security Act.'
'What was the content of the emails, Agent 51?'
'The exchange outlines the entire plot for taking the virus. It began with negotiation of the Minister's fee for information. Specifically information on the location of the virus and the computer systems protecting the Breathdeep Facility.'
'Was the Minister involved in the taking of hostages?'
'He hired a freelance communications expert who intercepted certain military communications, which provided the whereabouts of the fugitives from Kilkorne.'
'So the attempt to keep the Minister from obtaining information about the fate of the fugitives was unsuccessful?'
'Yes.'
'I understand,' the judge said, 'that a full transcript of the emails cannot be revealed in court at this time because of certain other information contained therein, which is covered by the Official Secrets Act.'
'Yes, that is correct. I have personally seen proof that the Minister was directly responsible for the operation in which two groups of terrorists entered Britain, were provided with helicopters for taking hostages and for removing the sample of virus.'
A sly cackle diverted attention to the dock. A look of manic self-satisfaction covered the Minister's face. 'You'd have organised it yourself for what I was offered.'
The judge gave the Minister a cold stare and replied. 'That I very much doubt.'
'Call this evidence?' said the Minister, 'I call it hearsay and tittle-tattle!'
'Minister, only a moment ago you confessed to these crimes.'
'I merely stated that you would have done it for the fee I was offered.'
'And that isn't a confession?'
While the Minister made no attempt to reply, the judge hammered on the bench. 'Court adjourned until two this afternoon, when verification of Agent 51's evidence will be given by the head of UK Security Services.'
That afternoon a figure known to world media as the most senior officer in the UK Security Services sat in the witness box and stated categorically that although the full content of the emails could not be revealed in court, the substance of them was that the Minister was guilty as charged.
British Zombie Breakout (Book 3) Page 6
